Vermont news

• Judge dismisses hazing suit against Milton schools

  26-09-2017 23:35 via vtdigger.org
  Superior Court Judge Robert Mello. Photo by Gregory J. Lamoureux/County CourierA judge sided with the Milton school district and threw out a case brought by the parents of Jordan Peavey alleging the district failed to protect their son from sexually explicit hazing they believe led to his death a year later.The attorney for the parents is considering an appeal, while attorneys for the school district agreed with the ruling.
  The defendants could not be held responsible for the hazing incident or
  
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• Fourth BT bidder may return

  26-09-2017 23:07 via vtdigger.org
  BURLINGTON — The mayor and the City Council said Tuesday that they’ve agreed to see if a potential conflict of interest with a dropped Burlington Telecom bid can be resolved.
  When the city publicly unveiled the bids from the finalists still in the running to purchase the fiber optic network last week, there were three instead of the expected four.
  Mayor Miro Weinberger and the city attorney said a fourth bid was withdrawn, but claimed they were prevented by a non-disclosure agreement
  
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• Senate committee weighs protections for Mueller

  26-09-2017 22:51 via vtdigger.org
  WASHINGTON — A Senate panel is considering taking legislative action to protect the special prosecutor investigating connections between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
  The two bills, each introduced with bipartisan support, would both require judicial review in order to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
  Mueller was appointed by a Department of Justice official earlier this year to investigate Russian influence in the election and whether there were conn
  
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• Writers for Recovery #2: Caitlin Ferland

  26-09-2017 21:58 via vtdigger.org
  Photo by Carley Stevens-McLaughlinWriters for Recovery is a series of writing workshops focused on stories of addiction and recovery. Participants write about their personal stories of struggle, perseverance, moments of doubt and inspiration and the slow but steady work of renewal and healing from addiction.
  Caitlin Ferland is a participant in Writers for Recovery’s Burlington group. She has been sober for five and a half years.
  Caitlin says writing about her experience helps her to e
  
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• Forum addresses clean water challenges

  26-09-2017 21:09 via vtdigger.org
  Former state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner David Mears; David Bond, a faculty member with Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action; Bennington County Regional Commission Executive Director Jim Sullivan (speaking); and state Sen. Christopher Bray, D-New Haven, took part in a forum at the college on clean water. In foreground is state Sen. Brian Campion, D-Bennington, who moderated the event.BENNINGTON — What will it take to clean the wat
  
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• VSECU takes on the Point to Point to fight hunger

  26-09-2017 20:55 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — VSECUSept. 22, 2017
  Contact:Yvonne Garand, Senior VP Marketing & Business Development
  [email protected]
  The Point to Point, powered by VSECU, continues to raise needed funds for hungry Vermonters
  MONTPELIER, VT, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 – One in four Vermonters struggles with food insecurity and today as part of Hunger Action Month, VSECU expanded their commitment to help meet the needs of hungry Vermonters by announcing their adoption of the Point to Point c
  
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• Workshop on conservation mapping tool hosted by Cold Hollow to Canada and Fish & Wildlife

  26-09-2017 20:34 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Cold Hollow to CanadaSeptember 20, 2017
  Contact:Bridget Butler, 802-393-4147, [email protected] Przyperhart, 802-461-5118
  Town planners, conservation commissioners, members of the public encouraged to attend
  BELVIDERE, VT. – Cold Hollow to Canada and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department are holding a free workshop on using the recently updated online mapping tool, BioFinder. The workshop is aimed at town planners and conservation commissioners,
  
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• St. Michael’s optimistic despite financial, enrollment woes

  26-09-2017 20:32 via vtdigger.org
  St. Michael’s College. Wikimedia photo by Simon P.COLCHESTER- St. Michael’s College greeted the new academic year with staff layoffs and the smallest freshman class in more than a decade.
  The layoffs occurred just prior to the start of the fall semester. According to The Defender, the Catholic college’s newspaper, Micalee Sullivan, a history instructor and the director of the Center of Women, as well as Joan Wagner, director of Community in Engaged Learning and coordinator for
  
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• Groundworks Collaborative to hold seventh annual Hike for the Homeless on Mount Wantastiquet

  26-09-2017 20:28 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Groundworks CollaborativeSept. 25, 2017
  Contact:Josh Davis, Executive Director, Groundworks Collaborative802-257-0066 x1102 or 802-490-2951
  [email protected]
  BRATTLEBORO, VT – Groundworks Collaborative will hold the seventh annual Hike for the Homeless fundraiser on Saturday, October 14, on Mount Wantastiquet in Hinsdale, NH. There will be two start times, 10am and 12:30pm, each beginning at the Mountain Road trailhead in Hinsdale (an immediate left after the se
  
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• VCFA, Phoenix Books announce scholarship honoring Howard Frank Mosher

  26-09-2017 20:24 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — VCFA, Phoenix BooksSept. 25, 2017
  Contact:Tim Simard
  [email protected]
  Major Gift by leading independent bookstore will honor iconic Vermont writer
  Montpelier, Vt.—Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) and Phoenix Books, a Vermont-based independent bookseller, have announced the creation of a new VCFA scholarship that honors late author Howard Frank Mosher.
  Called the Phoenix Books Howard Frank Mosher Scholarship, the $10,000 award will be merit-based and g
  
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• VA partners to offer Community Clergy Training Program to support veterans

  26-09-2017 20:20 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — White River Junction VA Medical CenterSept. 25, 2017
  Contact: Katherine Tang802-295-9363, ext. 5880
  [email protected]
  White River Junction, VT– The VA Office of Veterans Experience has partnered with the White River Junction VA Medical Center, the VHA Office of Rural Health and the National VA Chaplain Center to deliver three programs this September called the Community Clergy Training Program. Training runs daily from 8:30 – 3:30 and will be held:
  September 26, S
  
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• Vermont National Guard sends additional members to Virgin Island relief efforts

  26-09-2017 20:06 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont National GuardSept. 22, 2017
  Contact:POC: MAJ Chris GookinPHONE: (802) 338-3478BB: (802) 338-0929
  “I and the state of Vermont are extremely proud of our contribution to the recovery efforts in the US Virgin Islands. These types of missions are some of the most important work we do on behalf of our fellow citizens,” said Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, the adjutant general, Vermont National Guard.
  Additional members of the Vermont National Guard are
  
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• Beth Pearce elected president of National Association of State Treasurers

  26-09-2017 20:02 via vtdigger.org
  News Release – National Association of State TreasurersSeptember 22, 2017
  Press Contacts:Tim Lueders-Dumont802-828-1451
  BOSTON— The National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) announced that it has elected Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce as its 2018 President during the association’s annual conference in Boston. Treasurer Pearce will succeed outgoing President Ken Miller, the State Treasurer of Oklahoma, on January 1, 2018.
  “I am honored to lead this national netw
  
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• Birthing and Parenting Festival to be held in Bolton Valley

  26-09-2017 19:49 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Birth Love TribeSept. 22, 2017
  Media Contacts:Shaina Levee – Birth Love Tribe, 847- 814-9503, [email protected],
  www.birthlovetribe.com, Facebook: /birthlovetribe, Instagram: @birthlovetribeJosh Arneson – Bolton Valley, 802-434-6814, [email protected]
  Celebration of Maternal Health and Family Happiness
  BOLTON, VT – (Sept. 22, 2017) – Birth Love Tribe presents Birth Love Family Fest being held October 7, 2017 in Bolton, Vermont. The fest
  
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• Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea Co. moves to Route 100

  26-09-2017 19:44 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Vermont Artisan Coffee & TeaSeptember 22, 2017
  Contact:Holly Alves
  [email protected]
  vtartisan.com; coffeelab.com
  COFFEE BAR OPENS TO RAVE REVIEWS
  WATERBURY CENTER, VT. – As Vermonters and visitors alike take to the roads to enjoy the fall colors, they’ll notice a new addition along the Route 100 drive between Waterbury and Stowe. It is the state-of-the-art, custom built 15,000 square foot big brilliant red barn with a shiny silver coffee silo, new home
  
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• How Mobile Homes Fit Into Vermont's Housing Future dlvr.it/PqcQ75 https://t.co/ScP4nZGM7S

  26-09-2017 19:40 via twitter.com
  
  How Mobile Homes Fit Into Vermont's Housing Future dlvr.it/PqcQ75 https://t.co/ScP4nZGM7S
  
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• Susan G. Komen New England hosts Breast Cancer Action Day at Orvis Green

  26-09-2017 18:32 via vtdigger.org
  News Release — Susan G. Komen New EnglandSept. 25, 2017
  Contact: Jessica Fisher, Associate Director of Communications
 E: [email protected]: 774.512.0407
  Manchester Center, VT- On October 3rd, Susan G. Komen New England will be hosting its first Breast Cancer Action Day. Attendees will be offered the opportunity to plant flags in recognition of the nearly 600 women and men who will be diagnosed with breast cancer annually in Vermont.
  The event will be held at the Orvis Gre
  
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• 'Vermont Edition' Field Trip: A Visit To 4 Of The State's Dairy Farms dlvr.it/PqbShS https://t.co/tHKUu5ZYd0

  26-09-2017 18:11 via twitter.com
  
  'Vermont Edition' Field Trip: A Visit To 4 Of The State's Dairy Farms dlvr.it/PqbShS https://t.co/tHKUu5ZYd0
  
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• LISTEN: 'Vermont Edition' Field Trip: A Visit To 4 Of The State's Dairy Farms dlvr.it/PqbPMc https://t.co/lKm8xXwJ9m

  26-09-2017 18:06 via twitter.com
  
  LISTEN: 'Vermont Edition' Field Trip: A Visit To 4 Of The State's Dairy Farms dlvr.it/PqbPMc https://t.co/lKm8xXwJ9m
  
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• Vermont Attorney General: State immune from EB-5 investor lawsuit

  26-09-2017 12:26 via vtdigger.org
  Megan Shafritz (right), chief of the civil litigation division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, argues on behalf of the state in Vermont Superior Court in Hyde Park on Monday, saying that Vermont is immune from liability for what happened in the EB-5 program and investment in Jay Peak. Pool photo by Ryan Mercer/Burlington Free PressHYDE PARK — The Vermont Attorney General’s office says the state is immune from a lawsuit brought by defrauded EB-5 investors.
  Five EB-5 in
  
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• CNN debate: Sanders spars with GOP senators over health care

  26-09-2017 10:10 via vtdigger.org
  WASHINGTON — Hours after a last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare was derailed, four senators faced off on CNN over health care reform.
  Republicans Bill Cassidy, of Louisiana, and Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, touted their proposal, which features reductions in Medicaid payments to states and the repeal of mandates under the Affordable Care Act.
  Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., defended Obamacare and promoted a universal health care system.RELATED STORIESGOP
  
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• GOP fails to muster votes for Obamacare repeal

  26-09-2017 09:37 via vtdigger.org
  Police arrested protesters in a hallway outside of a hearing on a bill to reform health care. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerWASHINGTON —After a frenzied day of hearings, protests and arrests on Capitol Hill, the latest attempt to repeal Obamacare appears to be dead.
  The so-called Graham-Cassidy bill was a last ditch effort by Republicans to roll back the Affordable Care Act.Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, declared Monday evening that she would vote against the health care reform package.
  
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• Federal ruling is expected to hurt solar industry in Vermont

  26-09-2017 08:47 via vtdigger.org
  The International Trade Commission found on Friday that solar panel importers have hurt American manufacturers by flooding the United States with cheap goods.
  Solar panels are being imported “in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry,” according to the ITC’s ruling.The commission is expected to recommend that President Donald Trump impose tariffs on solar panels from China and other Asian countries.A tariff, or tax on f
  
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• PhytoScience to open pot dispensary in Bennington soon

  26-09-2017 08:26 via vtdigger.org
  BENNINGTON — The group that last week received conditional approval for the state’s fifth medical marijuana license has a Bennington dispensary site in mind and hopes to open the facility within a few months.
  William Cats-Baril, CEO of PhytoScience Institute, LLC, said the group has a lease agreement for a building at 345 Elm St., which formerly housed a medical practice.The company hopes to open a dispensary in four to five months.
  PhytoScience also has conditional approval to open
  
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• Burlington police bust Brooklyn ‘drug crew,’ officers say

  26-09-2017 08:14 via vtdigger.org
  BURLINGTON — Police said they arrested two members of a “drug crew” out of Brooklyn, New York, and a Vermont man they said was helping the pair sell their product during a raid last Friday.
  Trevon Sutherland, 22, and Jermaine Rushing, 20, were arrested on drug charges after police executed a search warrant at a Lafountain Street home, where they encountered the two in the bathroom and 100 bags of heroin in the toilet, according to a news release.
  Trevon Sutherland, 22, was arre
  
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• Advocates seek antitrust review of ACO regulation

  26-09-2017 01:10 via vtdigger.org
  Two advocates have asked lawmakers to consider antitrust issues as they charge health care regulators with oversight of accountable care organizations.
  The advocates made their case at a Sept. 14 meeting of the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, which is looking at a regulatory rule that the Green Mountain Care Board has been developing for several months.
  In 2016, the Legislature charged the board with creating a budget oversight and certification process for accountable care organi
  
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• Allen & Colby: A dairy revolution

  26-09-2017 01:05 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Will Allen and Michael Colby. Allen is the co-founder of Cedar Circle Farm in East Thetford. Colby is a writer and sugarmaker in Walden. Both are co-founders, along with Kate Duesterberg, of Regeneration Vermont. This essay is excepted from the full report, “Failure to Regulate: Big Dairy & Water Pollution in Vermont.”
  Vermont’s large-farm dairy industry is under increasing scrutiny for a variety of economic, ecological and humanit
  
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• John McClaughry: The Climate Action Commission goes a-listening

  26-09-2017 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by John McClaughry, the vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute. 
  On July 20 Gov. Phil Scott issued an executive order creating a 21-member Climate Action Commission. Scott named as co-chairs his Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources Peter Walke and Vermont Council on Rural Development Executive Director Paul Costello.
  The governor charged the commission to come up with at least three tangible proposals by the beginning of 2018. By next July he ex
  
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• Steve May: Deus ex machina

  26-09-2017 00:55 via vtdigger.org
  Editor’s note: This commentary is by Steve May, of Richmond, who is the former national director of state affairs for the Hemophilia Federation of America and the founder of the nonprofit The Forum on Genetic Equity to combat genetic bias. He also is a member of the Selectboard in Richmond.
  Deus ex machina is a Latin phrase. Literally translated it means that “God is in the machine.” The line between things made from technology and technology’s impact on all of us is gett
  
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